December 2009 - Issue 428

As government negotiators, corporate lobbyists, NGOs and protesters all gear up for the biggest international climate jamboree of all time, the NI asks: should we believe the hype?

Is the Cop 15 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December really our last chance to save the planet? Is there any hope of getting a deal that can deliver climate justice to the world's poor, or has the UN process become a dangerous distraction from the real challenge of a rapid transition away from fossil fuels? And, if the latter is true, what should we do about it?

As activists deliberate over whether to shut negotiators in until they've made a breakthrough, or whether to shut the whole show down, cartoonist Marc Roberts beams inquisitive aliens Gort and Klaatu down to commentate on the 'Copenhagen slam-down – a night of bone-crushing, planet-trashing, wrestling mayhem'.